10 things I love locally for kids

Now I won't claim to be pure when it comes to the shop-local movement. Target is a home away from home for my family, and, I admit, packages arrive on our doorstep from Amazon.com almost weekly. But we do support local businesses loyally and frequently, preferring homegrown restaurants to the chains and locally owned stores when possible and economically reasonable.

Over the past few years, since fatherhood came along, I've found a lot of great local stores at which to buy presents for kids. They're great Indiana gems. And, quite honestly, the local businesses are almost always cooler and more fun to visit than their national counterparts.

Here are 10 great local places to find presents for the young people in your life.

1. The Children's Museum

This isn't just a great museum, it's also home to a particularly fantastic gift store. You can shop there without going to the museum and it's worth a stop. They have everything from Hot Wheels to educational toys. It's a place where you can find Spiderman toys as well as books for kids on the civil rights movement and the story of Indiana's Ryan White. Oh, and it probably has the best collection of dinosaur and pirate toys in the region.

2. Clowes Memorial Hall

For a different kind of gift, the Clowes Hall box office offers tickets to great kid-friendly entertainment.(Photo: Matthew Tully)

Now it might seem strange to include this Butler University concert hall on the list. But the folks at Clowes do a wonderful job of filling their schedule with family-friendly programs. It's where my son discovered "Super Why," the great book-focused PBS Kids show. And in the coming months Clowes will feature shows such as "Charlotte's Web, "Seussical," and "Five Little Monkeys." Tickets are affordable and are a great stocking stuffer.

Downtown Comics near Monument Circle is the go-to place for young superhero fans.(Photo: Matthew Tully)

If the kid you're shopping for is a little older, this is a great place to find comics, books and other toys. Plus, it's a fun store with a very cool staff. It's on Market Street just steps north of Monument Circle. Bricks-and-mortar comic book stores are a tough business and this one adds flavor to Downtown, so if you can support them, please do.

This small and very cool store at 446 Massachusetts Ave. (there are two others, in Nora and Bloomington) surprised me with its stock of gifts for kids, from books and instruments to dolls and other toys. Prominent on one shelf was my favorite children's book: "The Peace Book" by Todd Parr. My son and I have read it hundreds of times. This store is a nonprofit that stocks handmade "fair trade" items, which, its mission statement says, "means that your purchase supports fair wages, gender equity and safe and dignified working conditions" around the world.

A happy pirate greets you at the main entrance of KIDS INK bookstore for the younger reader.(Photo: Frank Espich Indianapolis Star)

This is hands-down my favorite store in Indianapolis. The staff is helpful and friendly and, over the past three years, has recommended several outside-the-box books that have become among my son's favorite. The prices are great and the collection is vast, better and more diverse than what you'll find anywhere else. Plus, they have a train table in the back that is guaranteed to occupy youngsters for a while, giving parents time to relax. It's at 5619 North Illinois St.

10. Trains Galore

Trains Galore, (15360 Herriman Blvd. in Noblesville, has a great collection of train toys, from Thomas the Train to Chuggington to others.(Photo: Matthew Tully)

This small store in Noblesville (15360 Herriman Blvd.) has a great collection of train toys, from Thomas the Train to Chuggington to others. You can get most of what they sell elsewhere but they're friendly, helpful and worth supporting.

You can reach me at matthew.tully@indystar.com or on Twitter @matthew.tully